1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 236: "Mr. Zombie" Script Meeting
"There will be a script meeting at 4pm. Everyone come to the conference room to help cross the bridge."

This year's shooting plan was basically on the agenda, and Zhai Yuan called back several of the company's main creators with just one phone call.

When several main creators received the news, they had different thoughts in their minds.

Wang Jin believed that this meeting was specially convened for him. He now had the "God of Gamblers 2" project in his hands. The big boss Zhai Yuan had a gambling boat and must have attached great importance to this movie.

Wu Yusen felt that as "Wushuang" was the first Hong Kong film in history to break 30 million, his resources would definitely be the best in the entire company.

Xu Qi also had some plans in mind. Since Zhai Yuan allowed him to go to Hollywood to film "The Invisible Woman", he must be trained as a key figure. Before the filming of "Huang Feihong" started, a martial arts instructor from the Yuan family was invited. The Silver Capital Organization provided the venue in the mainland, and attached great importance to it.

The three of them walked into the conference room with their own thoughts and found two new colleagues, Liu Zhenwei and Wang Jiawei, sitting inside.

"Mr. Zhai asked me to send the script to you first, and he will come over later."

In the conference room, Zhou Huimin took several bound scripts and placed them in front of everyone one by one. She smiled sweetly at the main creators and walked out.

Wang Jin enviously said, "It's great to be a big boss."

The people around him knew what he meant and laughed meaningfully.

Jiuyi Entertainment can now be described as a place where yin is stronger than yang.

After signing two men, Liu Zhenwei and Wang Jiawei, she immediately invited Kara Hui to be her martial arts consultant. She also bought Yang Qingqing's contract from Zhao's and moved to 91 to get rid of her identity as a martial arts stuntman and became the first female martial arts instructor in Hong Kong.

Two for two can only be considered a draw, which does not demonstrate the extent to which President Zhai cares about women's employment issues.

So early this morning, Shi Nansheng brought three beautiful girls to complete the on-the-job procedures.

Moon Lee from "The New Shushan Swordsman", Ann Pak from "Summer Lucky Stars", and Loletta Lee from "Happy Ghost".

It is said that there is also Hu Huizhong, but this person who lives in Taiwan does not dare to take the role of Jiu Yi. She is also the actress that Jiahe is currently promoting. Shi Nansheng was sent to negotiate the contract but was met with a cold shoulder.

"Isn't that what Vanity Fair is all about? Mr. Zhai is young and rich, so it's not surprising that pretty girls would actively approach him, not to mention that he's willing to work with them to film."

These people are all veterans who have been working in the circle for many years and are not surprised by such things.

Zhai Yuan is now famous. As long as he releases the news of recruiting female leads for a new play, the beautiful women who come to audition can line up from Ngau Tau Kok to Central.

The actresses chosen nowadays at least have experience in the film industry, so it’s not ridiculous.

After some joking and laughing, the main creators opened the scripts in their hands. When they saw the four bold black words on the cover of the script, Wang Jin, Xu Qi and Wu Yusen were all stunned.

Mr. Zombie?

The three of them looked at Liu Zhenwei in surprise.

Liu Zhenwei, who had just started working, was sitting there like a minion, but now he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

"My younger brother Liu Zhenwei, Mr. Zhai specifically asked me to do this play, please take care of me."

…………

Twenty-year-old Moon Lee, nineteen-year-old Li Lizhen and Ann Bridgewater, three beautiful girls, dressed up specially. When they stood in front of Zhai Yuan, Zhai Yuan suddenly felt that the office was full of beauty.

How does Jay Chou sing the song "Little Eyes"?

The plane I shot in my childhood finally flew back into my hands?
The peaches at this time are not yet ripe, they are still buds about to bloom, with a little baby fat on their faces, looking very girlish.

Although Moon Lee did not play the role of Ah Qing, the Swordswoman of Yue, her pure and sweet appearance is still endearing.

Ann Bridgewater has a signature mixed-race face with soft lines and a hint of exotic charm, and her figure is the most outstanding among the three.

"Hey! Mr. Zhai, do you want to say something?"

Shi Nansheng led three beautiful girls into the office. Seeing the boss's fixed eyes, he felt a little embarrassed.

Could you be a little more reserved?
Zhai Yuan was interrupted by her and came back to his senses from his childhood memories. He laughed and said, "Actually, there's nothing much to say. As everyone knows, I'm a filmmaker who pursues art. I think the three beauties are very artistic. Welcome everyone to join our new company."

After saying that, he looked at Shi Nansheng and asked with his eyes, "Is it ok?"

Shi Nansheng felt that this boss was sometimes terrifyingly strong, and sometimes very unreasonable.

She had no choice but to speak up and said to the three beauties, "Mr. Zhai means that he has seen your plays and is very impressed with your acting skills. The company will train you to become a new generation of stars, but before that you need to make some breakthroughs in your existing acting style. For this purpose, Mr. Zhai has specially invited Hong Kong Film Award winner Kara Hui and martial arts instructor Yang Qingqing to train you in acting and movement for a period of time to avoid homogenizing your performance styles."

Zhai Yuan nodded repeatedly: "Ah, yes, yes, that's what I mean!"

Li Lizhen, Moon Lee and Ann Bridgewater were amused by his serious look of agreement.

When Shi Nansheng said he would take them to meet the big boss, the three of them were a little nervous. After all, before this, whether they were in Zhaoshi, Jiahe or Xinyicheng, they could only meet directors at most, and they only had the chance to meet the sponsors above that level once a year.

Now it seems that Zhai Yuan, who is about the same age as them, is not as aloof as Zhao Yifu, Zou Wenhuai and Lei Juekun.

"Master, everyone in the conference room is here..."

Zhou Huimin pushed the door open and was stunned when she saw three beautiful girls in the office.

"Okay, I'll go there now."

Zhai Yuan stood up, smiled at her, and introduced Moon Lee and the others to Chow Hui Min.

After hearing that Zhou Huimin was Zhai Yuan's musical apprentice, Li Lizhen looked between the two of them with a lively look, and a pure smile appeared on her face: "Mr. Zhai, I am also your loyal fan. Can I become your apprentice?"

Moon Lee and Ann Bridgewater looked at her in surprise: We are all new here, is it appropriate for you to blatantly flirt with the boss right from the start?

Shi Nansheng on the sidelines watched coldly.

When he went to New One City to talk to Huang Boming about Li Lizhen's contract, Shi Nansheng heard Huang Boming say that among the girls in the "Happy Ghost" crew, she was the most difficult to discipline. She would often hang out in bars and dance halls, and would go to work with dark circles under her eyes the next day. In the end, Huang Boming was forced to bring her parents to the bar every night to take her home to rest.

Now, look what happened. As soon as they met, she treated Zhai Yuan as a fool.

However, Li Lizhen, who is avant-garde in style, obviously did not take the strange looks from people around her to heart.

After she asked Zhai Yuan, she didn't wait for an answer and said directly to the silly Zhou Huimin: "Hello, Senior Sister!"

Zhou Huimin was stunned for a few seconds before she reacted. She looked at Li Lizhen, pursed her lips, and hesitated to speak. Then she took a deep breath and lowered her head like a punching bag. Then Zhai Yuan's smiling voice rang in her ears: "Huimin is my last disciple. I have no plans to take in another disciple for the time being."

Zhou Huimin quickly raised her head and met Zhai Yuan's gaze. Zhai Yuan blinked at her, and the girl's earlobes turned slightly red, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted.

When Moon Lee and Ann Bridgewater next to them looked at Li Lizhen again, there was a hint of gloating in their eyes.

Li Lizhen frowned, and turned her gaze back to Zhou Huimin. She looked her up and down and snorted softly.

Zhai Yuan ignored her small look and said to Shi Nansheng, "Sister Nan, let's go to the conference room for the meeting."

After he and Shi Nansheng left, there were only four young and beautiful girls left in the office.

It is said that practice has proven that four girls in the same dormitory can create eight group chats.

Now, even though Chow Hui Man, Moon Lee, Loletta Lee and Ann Bridgewater have just met, there is already a trend of dividing into camps.

Zhou Huimin, who has a gentle personality, was shown kindness by Moon Lee and Ann Bridgewater respectively. Although Li Lizhen suffered a setback when she was about to become their apprentice, she did not show any unhappiness when facing Zhou Huimin again. She smiled innocently and held her hand and asked her questions.

"Idol, I brought the Nine Wings of the Twins..."

The door of the conference room was pushed open again, and Ye Yuqing appeared at the door with a lunch box in her hand, smiling. When she saw a few unfamiliar faces at first glance, her brows immediately furrowed: "What's going on? You're having a sexy party behind my back?!"

…………

Zhai Yuan has extensive experience in holding meetings.

In the future, if you run an entertainment company and don’t spend every day in the conference room, you would be embarrassed to tell people that you do this when you go out.

After wasting some time in the office, when Zhai Yuan and Shi Nansheng walked into the conference room, the main creators were already sitting upright.

Liu Zhenwei was full of pride. When he saw Zhai Yuan coming in, he straightened his back unconsciously, smiled, and nodded at him as if he was looking at a younger person.

Zhai Yuan felt a little strange: How come this guy is more pretentious than me?

"I think everyone has read the script of Mr. Zombie, right?"

After entering the room, there was no unnecessary greetings and Zhai Yuan got straight to the point.

Speed reading of scripts is considered a basic skill in the directing industry. This kind of reading is different from that of ordinary readers. Even if the script only says 'Xiao Ming went to buy vinegar today and accidentally fell. Fortunately, the vinegar bottle was not broken and he returned home with a bruised face', as a director, he must also outline the specific scene shots in his mind while reading the script.

Less than ten minutes after Zhou Huimin handed the script to them, Wang Jin, Xu Qi and others already had a clear understanding of the content of the story.

After receiving a positive answer, Zhai Yuan then asked: "I would like to hear everyone's views on this story first."

There was a moment of silence in the conference room, and Wang Jin was the first to speak: "It's a very good genre film. I thought it was just following the trend of "Ghost Fighting Ghost", but after watching it, I found that Mr. Zhai added a lot of innovation. But the zombie theme has been filmed by many people, and there is a serious homogeneity. I think if it wants to achieve commercial results, some comedy elements should be added."

His evaluation of "Mr. Vampire" was entirely based on market considerations, and was consistent with the views of He Guanchang and Hong Xinbao of Jiahe in later generations. They believed that the release of this movie would definitely result in a loss. Even director Liu Guanwei felt that his directorial career would end because of this.

Zhai Yuan nodded without comment and asked Xu Qi on his left: "How about it, what do you think?"

"I think we need to add special effects."

In addition to expressing his own preferences, Xu Qi also expressed his dissatisfaction with the script: "After reading the entire script, it is obvious that it was referenced from the Qing Dynasty's strange stories novels. Director Wang Jin and I have different opinions. I think this type of movie should not be a comedy, but a depressing and terrifying one. In the end, the zombies should not be dealt with with childish props such as sticky rice and ink lines. Can we change it to the setting of the thunder-struck drought demon in the strange stories novels?"

Zhai Yuan nodded. Xu Qi's ideas were obviously very similar to those of "Zombie Era", a film he later shot himself. It was a brilliant innovation when zombie films were declining. He could think of these things in such a short time after reading the script, which showed that his thinking was quite clear.

But "Mr. Zombie" does not need innovation now. Instead, the folk tales he mentioned are more suitable for this movie.

"Old Wu?"

"I'm actually not very interested in this script. If I have to do it, I will refer to the vampire settings in Western movies and set the story in modern society. It's too stupid to have zombies in official uniforms jumping around in the early Republic of China."

The likes and dislikes of Wu Yusen's works are quite obvious. In essence, he just switched Chang Cheh's chivalrous style to an urban background.

When it was finally Liu Zhenwei's turn to speak, he looked at the three directors with some dissatisfaction in his eyes.

envy! Naked jealousy!
"Mr. Zhai, I think the script of Mr. Zombie is very clever, and it has some similarities to my film The Haunted Cop Shop. Of course, I definitely don't mean to say that you borrowed my ideas, but if you let me shoot this movie, I can at least guarantee that I will not deviate from the story of your script."

Zhai Yuan glanced at Liu Zhenwei and felt that his words sounded a bit sarcastic.

He turned and looked at Wang Jiawei again: "What do you think, Mr. Gao?"

Wang Jiawei, who is about 1.8 meters tall, has not yet gotten used to wearing sunglasses. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and showed his buck teeth when he smiled: "I think the pace of this script is too fast. Unnecessary characters should be deleted, such as the burden Wencai and the female ghost Xiaofeng. Let Jiu Shu and Qiu Sheng form the dual male lead camp. The lines are too dense and should also be deleted and redesigned..."

Wang Jiawei talked freely.

An image inexplicably emerged in Zhai Yuan's mind.

Uncle Jiu, wearing a Taoist robe, said: "Everyone goes through this stage. When they see a coffin, they want to know what's inside it."

Qiu Sheng looked melancholy: "I don't know when I became a very careful person. Every time I take sticky rice out, I have to check whether there is cotton rice in it."

Zombie lying in the coffin: 'I can't remember how long I was lying in the coffin, but I suddenly felt a little lonely.'

"grass!"

Zhai Yuan felt it was unnecessary to invite Wang Jiawei to the meeting.

He glanced at the main creators present and looked at Liu Zhenwei in particular.

"I plan to make Mr. Zombie into a series, similar to America's Superman. The character of Uncle Nine may run through several or even ten movies, and other new characters will be added during this period, so the entire cycle and the difficulty of creation will increase."

As Liu Zhenwei held his head high and looked confident, Zhai Yuan smiled at him shyly, "The company is currently short-handed, so the first film in this series will be directed by Liu Zhenwei. However, I personally think it will be difficult for Director Liu to control this film, so today I specially invite everyone to come and help, brainstorm, and help him do a complete review from lines to shots. Thank you all for your hard work."

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Zhenwei's face.

Liu Zhenwei's mentality was obviously far inferior to Li Lizhen's, and his old face turned red instantly.

Then Zhai Yuan's voice continued: "Next, I will explain in detail the creative structure of this zombie film. I hope that everyone will be inspired after listening to it and can make this series into the Chinese version of "Superman"..."

(End of this chapter)